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Branching Paths Additional Information

You can choose the same option twice.

This is the only Choose Twice card in the Kobolds and Catacombs set.

Branching Paths Options

Branching Paths Card Review

Even though Choose Twice is its own unique thing and doesn’t work with cards like Fandral Staghelm, it’s fascinating to watch Blizzard push the boundaries of mechanics. What’s particularly interesting about this card is the ability to choose the same option twice, increasing its already great versatility. It’s easy to compare this to other cards its modes can form, such as Greater Healing Potion when you choose 6 armor twice or Arcane Intellect/Nourish when you pick the card draw two times in a row, or Savage Roar. But I’m not too convinced this is the proper approach. Branching Paths is very obviously not nearly as good at doing what other cards already do, rather it provides you a slightly overpriced toolbox where you pay for the luxury of being able to make your custom card for the right situation, very reminiscent of how Kazakus‘ potions work.

Is that price worth it? As it turns out, it most often is. At the very least Branching Paths draws cards, so it can never be a bad card no matter what, and it only gets better from there. Depending on whether or not your deck might need its other modes on even a semi-regularly basis, this will determine whether you play this or something else for card draw specifically. It’s easy to imagine a controlling style of Druid deck (that perhaps summons large men?) which will want the armor and the draw, especially one that plays the Jasper Spellstone and is looking for efficient ways to upgrade it. Even though it is also an attack buff with versatility, aggressive decks are often not inclined to pay 4 mana when they can pay less, given that they only really want one of Branching Paths‘ effects and definitely don’t want one of them.

Card Review by Chimbarozo

Branching Paths Full Card Art

38 Comments

Doom4u

November 22, 2017 at 4:40 am

This can simply draws you more consistence to your Big/Taunt/Jade Druids, gives you tempo against aggro and helps you with letal (i already saw some people running Mark of Lotus in these kind of decks).

The card is good from the moment you can adapt your choices depending on the situation but the effects are weak for the cost : compare it to Shield Block for warrior, here you get 6 armor and draw a card for 4, so it’s weaker, the card is excellent with Fandral but i’m pretty sure that if it’s played, we will only run one Branching Paths; Whatever the card has a potential.

This may not end up being a good card, but given how there are six possible options and how its versatility only costs one extra mana, it has potential. Yes, none of the options are truly unfair, but neither are any of the options absolutely unplayable.

This card isn’t necessarily better than either of those two other cards, but this can do stuff Nourish and Feral Rage cannot. Those things may not be mutually exclusive between those cards. However, this will likely be the best heal option once the former alternative rotates out.

your assessment is skewed.. you are looking at each part individually and counting it as the whole card.. feral rage only gives armor or attack.. 4 12 armor is better than 3 mana for 8.. also it could be 6 armor and a card draw.. savage roar only helps you when you have a board where this is more flexible. you could go 2 attack.. or you can draw or gain armor.. its not the one thing this can do but the combination of effects.. i mean 6 armor and a draw can save you in a close game.

The only worth option i can think of is 4 mana 12 armor (like priest greater healing potion). All the other combinations have other cards that do the same thing better.
+2/+0? Power of the wild/Mark of the lotus/Savage roar do it better for less mana
Draw 2 card? for 4 mana is just BAD. Nourish draws 3 for just 1 more mana
12 Armour the only good one, and it would be played in slow druids, not aggro.

A mix of the 3 is even more meh……..
The only pro I can give to this card is it’s flexibility……if you don’t know what is your gameplan…

I’m merely saying that the path ( see what I did there) has been opened to use this in conjunction with the other cards, perhaps in a slightly slower form of aggro druid. It could provide a buff and card draw, which would be good for aggro druid if they had board presence on turn 4! It might not be in all decks, but I’m sure some will test it out!

Because savage roar, unless played on turn 6 with two of them, rarely is played on curve, making that 1 mana less of an issue. With the added option to instead draw 2 when you are out of resources makes this worth a try.

That being said, I would say it wont run alongside savage roar. It is one or the other. Time will tell. An that is if aggro token is going to even be a deck in new meta.

How exactly is this OP?
For one more mana, you could cast Nourish and draw an extra card instead with the extra versatility of maybe ramping up instead.
For one less mana, you could cast Savage Roar instead and get a guaranteed two extra damage in since it would effect your hero.
And gaining twelve armor for four mana is the equivalent of Priest’s Greater Healing Potion and as long as Feral Rage is in standard, that would be a better life gain option considering it is far more versatile during the early game.

This does not give eight mana and three cards worth of value for only one card and eight mana as a Ultimate Infestation for four mana would do.

Not to say this is not powerful. It’s power come from its versatility being in theory six different possible cards in one.

IMO it could replace savage roar in aggro token. Sure its 1 more mana and 2 less attacks for hero. But the option to draw 2 cards when the board is empty and you have two savage roars in hand could tip the scale. Also this is perma 2 attacks.

For slower druid decks this card seems utterly pointless.
In decks that run 2x UI (meaning every slower druid deck), a 4 mana spell with very situational effects is too clunky, especially when there are 1 mana cost equivalents if you really care about attack/armor choices; and it can’t really replace Nourish either.

This card is very versatile, but all effects are severely overpriced, especially the Attack buff. However the draw and armor gain are descent and the versatility is a big plus. Might see play as a one of in some druid lists, and a two of in combo druids (wild aviana kun?) But i doubt it will be good enough.

This can’t work with fandral since you can choose from 3 options, and choose one works with choosing from 2 options. So there’s no way it’ll ever work, this will also be the only chose twice card so they wouldn’t change fandral for just one card.